U.S., Latin leaders to discuss trade

A free trade pact with Central America could be a big boon for Florida.

May 8, 2005|By Doreen Hemlock, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Three Central American presidents are to visit South Florida on Monday as part of a multicity tour to tout the proposed U.S. free-trade pact with the Dominican Republic and five Central American countries.

Their trip culminates in Washington, D.C., with a Thursday meeting at the White House among leaders of all seven countries in the DR-CAFTA accord, including President George W. Bush.

The Bush administration wants Congress to ratify the accord by summer, just as legislatures in three Central American nations already have. But the White House so far lacks the votes needed for passage.

The presidents visiting Monday are Honduras' Ricardo Maduro, Nicaragua's Enrique Bolanos and Guatemala's Oscar Berger. They are scheduled to address a luncheon in Coral Gables and hold a news conference at the Port of Miami with Gov. Jeb Bush, a strong advocate for free trade.

Costa Rica and El Salvador also are part of the accord.

Opponents of DR-CAFTA plan protests in the Miami area.

At issue is a treaty that slashes barriers to trade, services and investment between the United States and six small, relatively poor Latin neighbors -- much as the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA opened markets for the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Supporters argue DR-CAFTA will strengthen ties among the seven nations, helping boost business, democracy and stability in the region. Opponents charge the accord helps big business at the expense of workers and small firms, hurting all nations.

Florida has the most at stake among U.S. states with the accord, because it trades the most with the DR-CAFTA area -- more than $16 billion in goods last year alone. DR-CAFTA nations combined rank as the No. 1 trading partner for the Sunshine State. Florida's vote in Congress is considered critical to ratify the treaty.

Both DR-CAFTA critics and supporters are mobilizing in a fierce political battle that could influence the fate of other pending U.S. and global trade deals.

Among opponents, a group of seven moderate Democrats came out against DR-CAFTA midweek, including U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami. Four of the opponents belong to the House New Democrat Coalition, a pro-trade group that is seen as a key swing vote in favor of the accord.

The AFL-CIO labor union federation also plans a Capitol Hill rally Tuesday to reject the agreement, with more than 1,200 union workers expected -- including labor leaders from Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile, DR-CAFTA supporters in the U.S. Hispanic community have formed the Hispanic Alliance for Free Trade, spanning more than 120 organizations from business chambers to community groups and including such advocates as Henry Cisneros, a former U.S. Housing Secretary and former mayor of San Antonio.

"Passage of a Central America trade agreement would underscore the reliability of the United States as a partner in the development of Latin America, just when regional leaders such as Hugo Chavez of Venezuela are raising the intensity of anti-American rhetoric," Cisneros wrote in the San Antonio Express-News.

The Hispanic alliance includes such South Florida-based organizations as the Nicaraguan, Colombian and Central America-U.S. chambers of commerce.